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Crag & Route Beta

Area	Location	Sub Location	Crag	Links
All NSW	(General)	(General)	(General)

Topic Date User

Balls Pyramid 5-Jun-2009 At 3:46:46 PM Kable

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Well, not too sure about being an old fart as well as a greedy climber but congratulations to Zane on posting this important topic as well as to John D's elequent replies.

As a person who has been touched by the Pyramid I can report that it is a surreal and fascinating place. The rock is akin to a gothic castle surrounded by a vast moat. Once on it, particularly on the south end, it is like being cast adrift on the Flying Dutchman. Hanging onto a steep wall with the waves crashing hundreds of metres below your feet, birds landing beside your hands and regurgitating their meal of fish, mutton birds nesting on you or crashing into you as they make their way back to their roosts at night, huge fish can be sighted in the water surrounds and all about you various types of sea birds are soaring metres away on the updrafts. There are places on the north end where the ridge is wafer thin and your respective eye look down its respective face at the waves below. Bound to make you either cross eyed or very scared - or both.

The rock although vegetated is mostly good and the bad rock can be avoided. There are a number of dykes running thorough the structure that give delightful climbing on small sharp holds, albeit with scant protection. There are beautiful bivouac spots that are relatively large and flat on both ends. There is one just below Winklestein's where the roof and the floor are incut for about 5 metres and it is like a patio some 200 metres or so above the sea. I would go back tomorrow if I could. If any one is planning a clandestine trip - let me know.

But what of the ban?? It is important for the climbing community to make sure that this icon of Australian climbing is made accessible to climbers again. However, there has been some important points mentioned on both sides of the argument. Numbers would need to be controlled although this is partially done by the effort and planning that is required for a successful trip. Simple things like there is no drinking water on the rock and you must not only be able to climb, you must also be a strong swimmer. On my second trip we had to swim about 130 metres to the boat through 5 metre waves. A pair of water wings will not suffice.

Numbers would certainly need to be controlled and a no litter ethic would need to be employed. It is my understanding that the phasmid is located off to the right of Gannet Green on the eastern side and well away from the climbing route. If climbers were to find some higher up then that would be an act of discovery that would only add to the known population.

It was really good to get this discussion going but time is short????